The SEC’s Compliance Outreach Program for Investment Companies and Investment Advisers

The SEC recently announced that it will be hosting a national compliance outreach seminar for investment companies and investment advisers.  The seminar will be held on January 30, 2014 at SEC headquarters in Washington D.C.  The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), Division of Investment Management, and the Asset Management Unit of the Division of Enforcement will co-sponsor the event.

The following topics will be covered in the seminar:

-          Program Priorities in 2014 with presentations from OCIE, Division of Investment Management, Division of Enforcement (Asset Management Unit), Joint or Coordinated Initiatives and Large Firm Engagements;
-          Private Fund Advisers with an emphasis on presence exam observations, JOBS Act, private fund initiatives/guidance, and private equity issues; 
-          Registered Investment Companies with an emphasis on 15c process/observations, alternative mutual funds, exchange traded products, and distribution in guise;
-          Valuation Issues specifically focusing on basic legal framework, valuation techniques and practices, difficult-to-value investments, and the role of persons other than the investment adviser (e.g., Board, Pricing Services); and
-          The Role of the CCO including presentations on SEC staff observations, CCO presence, access, and empowerment, and recent enforcement actions.  

“The compliance outreach program is an important part of the Commission’s initiative to share information about observed risks to assist firms in assessing and enhancing their compliance and control programs,” said OCIE Director Andrew Bowden.  “Past compliance outreach program events have been well attended and well received, and we look forward to a candid exchange of ideas with participants at our upcoming event.”

Click here for more information about registration.     

This announcement came just a few days before the SEC issued enforcement results for its fiscal year 2013, which ended in September.  The agency’s 686 enforcement actions in fiscal year 2013 resulted in a record $3.4 billion in monetary sanctions ordered against wrongdoers. Disgorgement and penalties resulting from those actions are 10 percent higher than fiscal year 2012 and 22 percent higher than fiscal year 2011, when the SEC filed the most actions in agency history.

If you need representation in an enforcement proceeding or need compliance consulting, contact the attorneys at Cosgrove Law Group, LLC.  

Furthermore, David Cosgrove, the managing-member of Cosgrove Law Group, LLC and former securities industry regulator, has recently established the Investment Adviser Rep. Syndicate.  This is a group dedicated to the interests of investment adviser representatives through the provision of educational and training opportunities.  In addition to these opportunities, the Syndicate, in general, is intended to address the specific interests and concerns of the representatives, rather than the representatives’ RIA or broker-dealer.

The Syndicate currently intends to hold its first annual conference in Saint Louis in the summer of 2014.  Stay tuned for the launching of the website that will include information on how to become a member, for additional announcements, and blog entries.  We are eager to be a part of the first national organization dedicated solely to the professional interests of investment adviser representatives.